Juvia's Week with Gray!
by Aryine
Summary: Gray's house got destroyed by Natsu, so he's sleeping over at Juvia's house! Rather, Juvia kind of forced him into it. Romantically dense Gray will eventually fall for Juvia. Gruvia, mainly fluff/angst.
1. Monday

Gray was having a good day - at least, he was, until Natsu managed to 'accidentally' destroy his house.

It had been a calm and peaceful day, and he had been very much at ease with the world, because nothing had gone wrong for a while. He had hoped it would stay that way, but _no_, it was really just the calm before a storm.

He sighs, and surveys the damage their resulting brawl had done to the guild. As always, their fight had escalated to involve nearly everyone in the guild; which was why there were people slumped over every surface in the guild, from the bar's countertop to the railings of the second floor. It was a miracle that the guild was still standing.

He sighs again, and turns to Mirajane, the only other conscious person left.

"We're too lively for our own good, aren't we?"

"Yes, but then again, that's what makes Fairy Tail so fun!"

He sure hopes Master can view the half-destruction of the guild as positively as she can.

* * *

As the others tidied up the guild, Natsu and he managed to work out an arrangement - he would give him one week to put his house back to the way it was, be it by hiring people or mastering Lost Magic: Time Ark, and it had to be entirely out of his own pocket - and hence peace reigned once again in Fairy Tail. Either way, Gray would have a house to return to by the coming Sunday, without having to even lift a finger. Pleased, he turned back to Mirajane and ordered a drink.

"So, Gray - where're you going to sleep this week?"

Gray paused. Good question. He hadn't thought about that.

"I don't know. Maybe I'll go camp in Lucy's house?" He replied, nonchalant. After all, he and Natsu were always, in Lucy's words, 'trespassing' there.

At this, a certain bluenette cocked her head up. Her beloved Gray-sama was intending to spend a week in _Lucy's_ house? She'd always known that Lucy was her Number-One-Love-Rival! "Gray-sama, Juvia would not mind you spending your nights at her house!" Juvia announced, immediately causing a simultaneous raising of eyebrows guild-wide.

Startled, Gray whipped around to face her. "Uh...", he stammered, a little at loss for words, "That's generous of you, Juvia." With his compliment, Juvia flushed crimson. Toying with her hair, she positively purred, "Anything for Gray-sama~" At this, the guild's suggestive whispers and catcalls grew in volume. Slightly flustered, Gray felt pressurized into accepting her offer - what else could he do? Clearing his suddenly dry throat, he smiled appreciatively at Juvia.

"Thanks, Juvia, I'll take you up on your offer then." Gray told her, wondering what kind of mess he just got himself into.

Whatever Juvia said in return to that was drowned out by the sudden 700% increase in suggestive whispers and catcalls around the guild.

* * *

"Thanks for letting me put up at your place, Juvia." It was quite heartening, really, to have someone care enough for him to offer him a place to stay.

A furious blush staining her cheeks, she squeaked," N-no problem - Juvia is happy to help! Gray-sama, welcome to Juvia's house."

It was a pretty house. Nearly everything in it, from her walls to her furniture, was in varying shades of blue. Pastel blue, aquamarine, cerulean, tones of blue Gray didn't have names for painted every inch of her home. A large aquarium dominated her living room, giving the entire room a rather underwater feel. It looked great.

"Gray-sama, you'll be sleeping in my room.", Juvia's soft voice floated from behind him. "There's a fold-out bed there you can use, would you mind that? Or would you rather sleep on Juvia's bed? Juvia doesn't mind..."

"Huh? No! I'll be fine on the fold-out bed - you don't have to go to so much trouble, really."

"As you wish, Gray-sama. The bathroom is there, you can take a shower before going to bed." The mere thought of _Gray-sama_ in _her house_ made her giddy with delight - they were just like newly-weds now! As Gray strode off in the direction of the bathroom, her mind couldn't help but wonder if this was an omen from the heavens - could they be destined to be together? With a silly smile on her face, she decides that _yes, it must be_, and collapses onto her bed giggling.

Ten minutes later, Gray stepped out of the shower. Looking around the bedroom, he saw Juvia on her bed, fully clothed. He felt kind of guilty, having taken a shower first before Juvia did, but she looked deep in sleep. The silly smile on her face probably meant she was having a sweet dream - he didn't want to wake her up from that.

_Hmm_, he thought. _Where was the fold-out bed?_

After 15 minutes of fruitless searching, he gave up. Tired, he lay on the floor and resigned himself to an uncomfortable night's sleep. While attempting to rearrange himself into a cozier position, he heard Juvia murmuring in her sleep.

"Gray-sama... Juvia...loves Gray-sama..."

Crayola would have been proud to reproduce the colour on his cheeks. He had known that all along, but to really hear it like that was... If he were to be honest, he was rather happy, but he didn't really know why. Then, deciding that he was too tired to think much deeper about this confusing mess, he closed his eyes.

After all, there was always tomorrow to sort this out.

* * *

A/N: I've re-written this because when I re-read the first version I posted, I was like QAQ /cringe internally/. In any case, while the writing style and all is different now, the main plotline hasn't changed. As always, reviews are much loved, and thanks y'all for reading!


	2. Tuesday

A shaft of sunlight shone straight into Juvia's room, illuminating Gray's sleeping form, effectively giving him the look of a sun-drenched angel. Well, he had always looked gorgeous, but this was special. It made him look... Tempting. Wait. What she thinking? She didn't have the permission to think of him like that. Still...

Gray stirred, then sleepily pried his eyelids open.

"Good morning, Juvia. Fully dressed already? Have you been awake long?"

"Eh? Did the power of Juvia's thoughts wake Gray-sama up? Sorry!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Uh... Nothing... Good morning, Gray-sama!"

Gray was confused. What thoughts? Why was Juvia so flustered? He had only been awake for a minute, but he already had no idea of what was going on. Well, he reasoned, it didn't seem to be important, so he didn't ask any more. With his confusion cast away, he stood up and made his way to the bathroom to freshen up.

"Gray-sama, why were you sleeping on the floor?"

- Later, In The Guild -

When Gray and Juvia were spotted arriving at the guild together, different kinds of grins appeared on everyone's faces.

The 'I-Know-Gray-and-Juvia-probably-were-too-innocent-to-attempt-anything' kind of indulgent grin had manifested itself on Gray's close circle of friends.

The 'I-wonder-what-Juvia-did-to-try-and-get-Gray's-attention' kind of amused grin were also evident on some of the other females in the guild (those who knew how romantically dense Gray was).

The grin that was on every other guild members' face (and the thoughts behind those smiles), however, was less innocent than the abovementioned two. It was the nosey, excited and intrigued kind of smile, the 'I-wonder-if-Gray-got-laid-yesterday' kind of smile. Juvia was, after all, quite a looker, with considerable 'assets', and Gray was a male. Need I say more?

Oblivious of these grins and speculations forming in the heads of the other mages in Fairy Tail, Gray proceeded to join his usual group of friends, with Juvia tagging along.

"Hey, Natsu, how's my house coming along?"

Gray's question was met with an awkward silence from Natsu.

"Uh... I'm kind of broke right now, Gray."

Cue entrance of Natsu's big, puppy-like eyes.

"Then go on a job, flame-brain.", Gray intoned, unmoved.

"Aye... WAIT. WHAT did you just call me, droopy eyes?"

"Flame-brain, bastard! And don't call me droopy eyes!"

"How about Prince of the Perverts, then, you droopy-eyed bastard?"

"Narrow eyes!"

"Droopy eyes!"

"King of over-heated idiots!"

"That does it, let's talk this out... WITH OUR FISTS!"

"YOU'RE ON, BASTARD!"

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what'll happen next, does it?

- A While Later -

Amazingly, the entire guild got dragged into the fray. Again. It did, however, produce Gray's desired result, and hence Natsu ended up agreeing to do 15 jobs in a row to raise enough money to rebuild Gray's house. Now, peace once again reigned in the guild, and Gray finally got the chance to eat breakfast.

While Gray was enjoying his breakfast, Juvia took the opportunity to try to flirt with him a little.

"Gray-sama, Juvia thought you fought Natsu wonderfully!"

"Thank you, Juvia."

"I really mean it, Gray-sama!"

"Uh... Thanks a lot, Juvia."

"..."

Apparently, this conversation was going nowhere. Undeterred, Juvia tried another approach.

"Juvia thinks Gray-sama looks good today!"

"You think so? Okay, thanks."

"Not that you don't usually look good, just that today, Gray-sama looks especially good!"

"I do? Uh, thanks, I suppose."

With her second attempt at flirting failing miserably in front of her eyes, Juvia sighed, slightly disheartened. Was her beloved Gray-sama really that dense?

Noticing how Juvia suddenly seemed a little under the weather, Gray felt... Sad? He had no idea why he felt that way. Because he didn't like it when his friends were upset? Whatever it was, he wanted Juvia to smile, so he pondered upon the possible causes of her sudden depression. Maybe she was hungry? Yes, that must be it. She didn't eat breakfast at home, after all. Standing up, he made his way towards the guild's bar with the intention of treating her to breakfast.

When Gray stood up, Juvia sunk further into the depths of her angst. Did her negative aura or something repel him away from her? It's always like that... Ever since she was young, even before Phantom Lord, she was the 'Rain Woman', the one who brought the rain, who spread gloom wherever went... But she couldn't help it! A rogue tear threatening to escape, she looked down, unwilling to cry.

"Hey, Juvia, did something happen? Why are you so unhappy?"

Huh? That was Gray's voice, accompanied by an alluring aroma of... Food?

"In any case, I, uh, got you breakfast."

Her beloved Gray-sama brought her breakfast? That has never happened before! Bewildered, she tilted her head upwards to take a look at Gray.

Mystified by her actions, Gray felt self-conscious. Was it really that unusual for him to bring Juvia breakfast?

An intense tint of scarlet emblazoned itself over Juvia's cheeks. Was she dreaming? Gray brought her breakfast on his own accord? To ascertain that she was, in fact, awake and not in a bizarre dream situation where she dreamt she was awake but wasn't, Juvia pinched herself, hard.

"Ouch!" She yelped. A smile lit her face. Yes, the throbbing pain in her thigh from her pinch was proof she was awake, which means this was really happening. How lovely!

"Why did you do that for? Just eat it." Gray flushed. Was that act so out of character for him? If so, then he must be quite cold towards Juvia. Was that so? She had been so nice to him, too. He silently resolved to be nicer to her from then on.

"O-okay! Thank you very much, Gray-sama!" With that, she dug into her breakfast voraciously.

Hmm. Juvia looked quite cute, eating with such carefree abandon. With a soft smile on his face, Gray watched Juvia eat, captured by the way her full, plump lips looked so... Tempting? Huh? What was he thinking? She was his friend. Nothing more. Right? He looked firmly away. Juvia was a precious friend. He refused to do anything that might destroy their friendship.

Juvia was in heaven. It was as if she had donned a pair of rose-tinted glasses, making everything seem more precious and beautiful than before. Her Gray-sama was being so nice to her! Maybe her flirting worked, somehow? Soon, if their friendship continues progressing on, she would be able to claim Gray-sama as her very own, and all those other love rivals can just go home and weep! And their wedding would be held in the guild, and all the decorations would be ice sculptures, courtesy of Gray, and she would have his 12 children, and... She was soon lost in her dream world, with a silly smile evident on her flushed face.

"Eh... Juvia, are you okay?" Lucy asked her, bemused by Juvia's facial expression.

"Huh? Oh, Lucy! Juvia is fine. Why would you ask?" Snapping out of her fantasy, Juvia eyed Lucy warily. After all, Lucy was still her Number One Love Rival. Analyzing Lucy's question feverishly in her mind for any hidden meanings, Juvia hit upon the answer - Lucy must want to get close to Gray while Juvia was day-dreaming!

"Juvia knows what you're trying to do, Lucy! Juvia will not let you do that!" She declared.

"Huh? I wasn't trying to do anything..." Lucy trailed off, bewildered by Juvia's reaction towards her innocent question.

Ignoring her, Juvia turned to Gray, and boldly asked him, " Gray-sama, Juvia would like to do a job with you! Shall we do one together?"

At this point, most of the members in the guild were already watching Gray and Juvia's little drama play out, so when Juvia proposed this to Gray, glances were exchanged all around, followed by a change in atmosphere. It was now a very charged and expectant one.

Feeling the sudden pressure on him, Gray gulped. Say no, and Juvia would crumble. Say yes, and... Actually, what could happen? Can't be too bad, right? Juvia was a powerful mage that wouldn't hinder him, she was a good friend of his and he wouldn't mind the extra cash. What was the worst that could happen? With that in mind, he agreed.

To say that Juvia was happy with his answer would be like saying that Natsu's flames were merely warm. Juvia was on cloud nine. With catcalls and murmurs of approval resonating throughout the hall, Mirajane recommended them a job that seemed just right for them. All they had to do was defeat this sea dwelling monster that was terrorizing a coastal town. It was a relatively simple job, which paid rather well too, so Gray and Juvia snapped it up.

- Later, Back In Juvia's House -

Having decided on leaving for the job tomorrow, Gray and Juvia went back to her house to pack. Gray didn't have much to pack, so he was done in about 2 minutes. Having found where the pull-out bed was, he sat on it, and watched Juvia, for want of anything better to do.

He had never noticed before, but Juvia moved beautifully. Her movements were very fluid, just like the element she controlled. It was quite a sensual pleasure, watching her move. Besides, she was quite pretty, too. A real looker. Her sweet disposition was attractive too, and her innocence was cute. Although she could be quite weird at times, and strangely possessive, she was still kind of tempting. With a start, he realized just what he was thinking. He just described her as tempting. Juvia. His friend. Slightly disgusted with himself, he cast his gaze downwards.

- At Night -

They had finally finished packing. The reason it had taken so long was because Juvia had absolutely no idea to pack light. She had wanted to bring half the house with her. Gray had to explain to her over and over and over again that for one, it was an easy job, so pack light, and for two, a 180kg bag would slow them down by A LOT, unless you were like Erza. Juvia had wanted to be prepared for every possible scenario, from being stranded in the sea to having to live in space, so no matter how ridiculous the scenario, she had packed for it. Hence the ridiculously bulky and overweight bag. Gray had to put in a lot of effort into dissuading her from bringing such a huge load of junk, so he was drained and wanted to go to bed as soon as possible.

Flopping down onto his plump pull-out bed, he dozed off the moment his head touched the pillow. Juvia was tired too, but she stayed awake a little longer to gaze upon Gray. He looked so incredibly tempting. Climbing into her bed, she positioned her body to face Gray's, so the first thing she saw in the morning would be Gray. With a sweet, contented smile on her face, she, too, closed her eyes and drifted off to dreamland, wondering what tomorrow would bring.

- End of Chapter 2 -

* * *

**A/N: To fictionlover99, ivory9elecktra11fullbuster and GrayZa : Thank you! Here's the second part, I'll continue updating whenever I can :D**

**To MissForgetfulMe and Rainbowcastle: Thanks, you've helped me improve my punctuation. Glad to know I wrote something people like! :D**

**To morninglove: Haha, hello hon! ;) Thanks, and you should write one too! **

**Thank you so much to everyone who bothered to review - I'm touched. Hope you liked this, and yeah, review. Thanks! I'll try to upload fast.**

***Anyone have any idea how to delete a review? My friend accidentally reviewed my own story with my account. ._. Haha~**


	3. Wednesday

It was such an idyllic day. Cotton-white clouds dotted the cerulean sky and a delightful little breeze was blowing.

It's a pity Gray and Juvia didn't have time to notice it. It's not their fault, though - who could when they're fighting a monster that was more resilient that Natsu's idiocy?

"Ice-Make Lance!" Panting from the exertion, Gray tried to find the monster's weak spot, a chink in its armour, anything. If he could find it, half the battle would be won. "Where is it? Where is it?" With his face scrunched up in concentration, he assessed the monster over and over again.

Juvia stood firm beside Gray, launching attack after attack at the monster. Damn, it's hard to keep this up. Even though the monster looked a little worse for wear than before, it looked far from defeated, and they can't keep going at it forever. She sneaked a look at Gray. He still looked so perfect. Well, actually, he looked a little disheveled, but she could hardly comb his hair in the middle of the battle, right? Turning her entire focus back on the monster, she continued to bombard it.

No wonder this mission paid so well. Gray had expected it to be a breeze. He had expected them to nail it quickly, especially since both Juvia's and his power were always amplified near water, and they were in the middle of an ocean. Apparently, he had underestimated the creature.

Did this monster even have a weak point? Seriously, for crying out loud, it didn't even seem to be bothered much by their attacks. It was almost as if they were just mere pests. Gray's eye twitched at that thought. This was absurd - both of them were very competent mages!

At that moment, Gray spotted it. It was slight, but when one of Juvia's Water Nebulas had connected with the monster's teeth (if you could call that teeh - it looked more like a row of bombed houses), it flinched. It was then he understood. You can't penetrate through the monster's body armour, BUT you can destroy him from the inside out. How, though? You'll require both altitude and immense power...

Would his power alone be enough? Gray thinks not. How about Juvia? Probably not, too. And as for altitude, they'll have to be taller than the monster. And it's not like the monster was small. Maybe if they somehow grew 4 metres in height each then stood on top of each other?

...That sounded ridiculous, even in his head.

Maybe if they could stand on something? A platform of something that floated on water, and something steady enough to stand on. Something like... Ice! At that moment, all the ideas floating around in his head pieced themselves together. It was a simple idea - so simple he wanted to throw himself into the ocean for not thinking it up earlier - but it was a good idea nevertheless.

For it to work, though , he would need Juvia's cooperation.

"Juvia, how would you like to perform a Unison Raid with me?"

The moment his words left his mouth, Juvia started flushing harder than he'd ever seen her flush before. Well, except that one time he accidentally grabbed her breast while they were fighting. Still, the intensity of her blush made Gray wonder if he had said something wrong.

"Juvia...?"

Juvia didn't answer immediately. She couldn't. Her mind was preoccupied, frantically going through what Gray had just asked. Was there a hidden meaning somewhere? Did Gray like her? Was his request a confession of requited love for her? However, the monster's chilling roar broke her train of thought and made her snap back into reality. She was probably just thinking too much - she had to focus on their current situation!

"Yes, Gray-sama. Do you have a plan?"

"Yeah. Listen, we're going to destroy this monster from inside out, so I'll make an ice tower to gain height over it, and then we'll use a Unison Raid to attack it through its mouth, okay?"

"Okay! That's such a good plan, Gray-sama - you're so smart!"

Despite himself, Gray blushed. Just a little. It's hard not to be flattered when someone compliments you even when you're the one that landed them in trouble (he picked this mission, after all).

"I'm not sure about that, but thanks. Anyway, let's do this!"

With that, Gray froze and manipulated the water below them into a structure that loomed over the monster. The monster, seemingly feeling threatened by it, raised a hand to swipe at it, but that was quickly blocked by a shield of ice.

"Looks like we gotta do this fast, Juvia, or it'll destroy this tower!"

Intertwining their fingers together, they stood determined against the monster.

"You're going down."

The explosive power of their merged abilities proved to be more than enough for the monster. Unbeknownst to them, their attacks had been chipping away at the monster bit by bit, and although it had looked fine, it was actually already close to its breaking point. Their Unison Raid had been its breaking point. With the last roar it will ever make, it staggered, and then plummeted into the ocean; its watery grave.

Triumphant but exhausted, Gray and Juvia silently watched the waves claim the monster. It was strange, but they felt a certain kind of respect for it - it wasn't common for them to meet a foe that challenged them to such a big extent. They stayed together like that for a while, solemnly acknowledging their victory atop Gray's tower of ice.

Victory was sweet.

It was a halcyonic day. They had defeated a monster together. They were glorious in their hard-earned triumph. If Gray had been in touch with his feelings, he would have seized the opportunity to make that moment romantic.

It's a pity that he was, romance-wise, denser than a rock.

Hence, instead of breaking the respectful silence with a sweet word or two, he broke it in the most unromantic way possible - his stomach decided to growl.

"Gray-sama, Juvia didn't realise you were that hungry."

"Honestly speaking, neither did I. Shall we go grab a bite?"

"Sure, Gray-sama, Juvia will be delighted to."

- A While Later -

Gray and Juvia were in a hotel room.

How did that happen?

A storm had broken out. That's what had happened. Under normal circumstances, that would not be a problem to them, but the storm raged with unusual intensity, rendering their only mode of transport back to Magnolia unable to run. Apparently, the train was susceptible to derailing due to reduced visibility and other technical details they did not understand but were forced to accept. Since they had planned to beat and monster and get back to Magnolia on the same day, they had made no contingency plans. If they had tried hard enough, they could have walked back to Magnolia, but they were tired after their battle, hence they sought the easier way out and simply just checked into a hotel for the night. However, as fate would have it, the only hotel in that area had a grand total of one room left.

That was how they ended up in one hotel room together for the night. What's more, said room had only one bed. While it wasn't as if they had never shared a room together before, they certainly had never ever slept in one bed together.

The resultant awkwardness from their embarrassing situation was so thick, it was almost visible.

In a bid to keep the awkwardness at bay, they had avoided talking about their sleeping arrangements for as long as possible. Instead, they had talked about other things, starting from those they had in common, such as their friends in Fairy Tail, but soon, the topic had progressed to more personal ones, such as their pasts.

Gray had been slightly puzzled by how easy it was to talk to Juvia. Usually, he found it difficult to talk about his past, but he was comfortable doing so with Juvia. It was strange. Still, it felt good to have someone he could talk so freely to.

"Honestly speaking, I think of Ur as my mother, more so than my actual mother... I still miss all of them, though."

"I see, Gray-sama. Ur must have been a very good person."

"She was. Well, enough about me. How about you?"

"G-Gray-sama wants to know about Juvia?"

"Yeah. I've just realized I don't know that much about you, y'know?"

"Okay, Gray-sama... Um, Juvia was always rather lonely..."

Once Juvia had started on her past, it was hard for her to stop. On that cold, wet night, she spilled her heart out to Gray. Juvia had always kept her lonely and desolate past to herself, for the most part, so Gray was one of the very few who knew of it. It had made him respect her so much more, as Juvia had managed to overcome the tremendous odds against her and emerge as a powerful mage. She was amazing. If that had happened to him, he doubted he'll ever had smiled again.

At the end of her heart-wrenching account, she had leaned against Gray, crying. His protective side kicking in, he held Juvia in his arms and spoke quiet words of comfort into her ears. Her vulnerable side was something he had never seen before, and to be honest, it broke his heart to see her cry.

"Shhhh, Juvia... Don't cry... You have Fairy Tail now. You have all of us.", he whispered, while gently stroking her velvety hair.

Soon, his soothing words lulled Juvia into sleep. She looked so serene that way, with her long lashes forming dark crescents against her pale, pale skin. He really didn't want to wake her up. But then the only other alternative would be for him to spend the night with her in his arms, in a sitting position on the cold, hard floor.

He looked at the soft, luxurious, inviting bed in front of him. Then he looked back at Juvia.

Damn. His heart overpowering his voice of reason, he stayed there on the floor, embracing Juvia the entire night.

- End of Chapter 3 -

* * *

**A/N: So, so, so sorry for the ultra late update. Stay with me, okay? I'll update more often now! Reviews much loved.**

**To Sarapyon, MissForgetfulMe, Shiawase-usagichan, Guest, Kretzuu, JellalxErza, Takarada, Gruvia 3, Lalalandlady, Starry Eyes, Kori'andr, fictionlover99, Helekiller2, iloveeyouu. and Natsu-Lover45, thank you so much for the reviews - I'm glad people enjoyed this! I love all of you. **


	4. Thursday

At long last, here's Chapter 4! /shot for not updating since forever

* * *

Waking up in Gray's arms was something Juvia had never even dreamt of, but it was exactly what had happened earlier that day. Juvia was embarrassed to say that she had been so excited that she literally melted into his embrace, effectively drenching Gray and startling him awake.

Juvia spent the rest of her morning apologizing to Gray. Even though Gray had shrugged it off, saying that wasn't the worst wake-up call he'd ever experienced (the worst had been waking up to the smell of something burning and realizing that Natsu had just 'accidentally' singed his hair off), she still couldn't get over it. She then vowed to spend the rest of her day 'making it up to Gray-sama!'.

Unfortunately, with Juvia being Juvia, her idea of 'making-it-up-to-someone' was basically becoming their slave. Whenever Gray expressed even the slightest interest in anything, Juvia would get it done for him, often in extreme ways. For example, when he'd made an off-handed comment about being a little thirsty, she'd bought an entire assortment of drinks ranging from normal (e.g. orange juice) to downright bizarre - just what was 'Salad Water' supposed to be? They ended up giving most of the drinks away. Another incident was when they had been on their way to the train station to catch a ride home to Magnolia. As their route had included passing by a beach, they had decided to stop and take a dip. Gray had then remarked that the waves were a little too gentle for his liking. Needless to say, that was a big mistake on his part.

One tsunami, two demolished villages, three dozen furious villagers, 4 million jewels in compensation and 5 hours worth of delay later, they finally - _finally!_ - got to walking distance of the train station. By that time, it was already late evening, despite them having set off early.

The silence that followed their walk was heavy.

Juvia knew the hindrances were her fault. She knew that despite Gray's unperturbed front, he was likely a little unhappy by how the day had turned out. She knew that she had probably caused nothing but _trouble_ to Gray on this trip, even though that had been the last thing she had wanted to do.

The sky darkened above her.

Juvia knew that even though Gray had not said a word, he probably wished that he had not bought her along. She also knew that regardless of what everyone said, they would likely be happier off without her, Juvia of the Rain. The rain that everyone hated.

Right on cue, the rain that everyone hated came pouring down, drenching them both again.

Gray tilted his head upwards. _What a heavy rain_, he thought. Glancing to his left to confirm the sneaking suspicion he had, he sighed and shrugged his coat off. He then draped it over Juvia's shoulders. She looked at him, surprise written all over her face.

"You might catch a cold otherwise."

_Oh_, she thought. _Gray-sama is so sweet._ Yet she doesn't deserve his kindness, not after all the trouble she had caused. However, before she could take it off, Gray put his arm on her shoulder, pressing the coat onto her.

"And don't you refuse it. I don't get cold easily, but you might."

"T-thank you, Gray-sama. Juvia appreciates your kindness."

"C'mon, don't be so formal and all, we're friends."

"Gray-sama is a good friend."

"So are you, Juvia."

_Is that so, _she wondered._ Can someone who delayed a friend for five hours be considered a good friend?_

"Juvia... is sorry, Gray-sama. Juvia is very, _very_ sorry."

"Huh? For what?"

"For everything! For drenching Gray-sama in the morning; for causing a tsunami; for wrecking villages; for having to use up so much of our reward money to rebuild them; for delaying Gra-"

Gray put a finger to his lips, effectively silencing Juvia. Then he smiled - a soft, fond smile.

"Juvia, I'm not mad. I don't blame you - in fact, I'm flattered that you gave it your all to try to 'make it up to Gray-sama'. But really, Juvia, I'm not angry at all. A little annoyed at first, perhaps, because of all the attention we attracted, but even that that was minor."

As she listened to his words, the pounding rain eased up.

"Gray-sama doesn't think that Juvia was a burden?"

"Of course not. You were invaluable to the mission." As he spoke, that lovely smile of his spread across his face, making him even more handsome than he already was (which, in Juvia's opinion, was no mean feat, seeing as how she already thought of him as the physical embodiment of everything good and right in the world).

At that, the rain stopped altogether, as did Juvia's heart. How was it that Gray-sama _always _knew what to say? She never thought she could love him any more than she already did, but now she knew otherwise.

"Thank you, Gray-sama," she whispered, touched.

Gray nodded, glad she was smiling again. It didn't feel right otherwise.

"No problem. Now let's get home, shall we?"

With light hearts and warm smiles, they walked off together as a pair.

- End of Chapter 4 -

* * *

A/N: Okay, this is so the last time we see Juvia all depressed and stuff- I'm getting tired of that as well. Chapter 5 will probably be about them having some 'simple alone time at Juvia's house', just like what corialanus suggested (thanks!). :) Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I love you all so, so much :D Oh, and reviews are, as always, much loved - please be a darling and write me one?


	5. Friday

The day is sweltering hot.

It is hell on Earth; it is the sun having a fever; it is a record-breaking heat wave across the now-parched lands of Magnolia.

In a sense, Gray and Juvia were lucky as their powers were well-suited for keeping them cool, but being a mage with such abilities also meant that they were particularly susceptible to the heat.

In an attempt to keep themselves from dying of heatstroke, they had flooded the living room with icy water, and had decided to stay in it throughout the day. Having spent the better part of the day swimming around with Juvia's pet fishes, they inevitably got bored eventually and were now creating little games to entertain themselves.

* * *

-Ice Sculpting-

"Gray-sama, guess what this is."

"Um... A banana?"

"T-that is correct, Gray-sama!"

Never would Juvia admit that it was actually meant to be a dolphin.

-Competitive Swimming-

"One, two, three- go!"-

-and Juvia is _already_ at the opposite side of the room while Gray just gapes at her.

"How did you get there so fast?!"

"Juvia _is_ one with the water, after all."

Her words registering in his head, he nods and wonders how he thought he stood a chance against her.

-Ice-Skating-

Gray is having a good time. He spins around on the ice with the insouciance of a carefree child, and then executes a perfect triple axel without much difficulty.

After a few moments, however, he realises that he is the only one skating. Juvia, on the other hand, is sitting down, seemingly content with just watching.

"Don't you want to skate?"

"Juvia would rather not - thank you for asking, Gray-sama."

Puzzled, he spins around her and then decides that skating solo isn't much fun.

"But why not? It's really quite fun."

"Ah- it's just that- Juvia doesn't really know how to..."

He blinks. Oh, so _that_ was the problem.

"That's okay - I can teach you."

Juvia looks up, as if surprised by his offer. When she sees Gray's extended hand, her cheeks tint red and she shyly places her hand on his palm. Grinning, he pulls her to her feet and then guides her along the ice.

"Use both legs to- no, don't do that- that's a little better, yeah-"

"Juvia is sorry for being so bad at this, Gray-sama- Juvia is really, really sorry-"

After a fall or two (or more like twelve, really), Juvia got the hang of it and could now glide on the ice unassisted. She rather enjoys it, too, and that joy gives her smile a serene quality.

She looked breathtaking - an angel on ice.

Gray smiles.

* * *

Soon after, the tyrannical sun is conquered by nightfall and the stars come out.

It is a gorgeous sight, and they bask in its glory as they proceed to dry the living-room out. Cloaked partly in darkness and the natural light of the night, their eyes flit to each other's silhouette every now and then - as if they had something they wanted to say, but had not wanted to break the tranquil peace of the moment.

Eventually, Gray decides that he's had enough of the silence.

"Today was fun, huh?"

"Juvia agrees, Gray-sama. She also likes how calm the night is, after such an active day."

"Yeah."

He then takes a deep breath, and forces out something that's been on his mind since they'd been on that mission together.

"Speaking of which, how'd you like to go out with me? Like be my g-girlfriend?"

At this, Juvia blinks, and as the full implication of his words dawn on her, she starts to wonder if she's dreaming. Gray, noting that Juvia hadn't said anything, starts getting flustered.

"But it's okay if you don't, really - I mean, not that I want you to say that, but - you know, it's just that you can say no if you want, but - why are you laughing?"

"Oh, Gray-sama, Juvia is just so, _so_ happy right now. And yes, please do let Juvia be your girlfriend!"

At that, Gray starts laughing too, euphoric in his success. Pulling Juvia into his arms, he holds her tight and presses a chaste kiss onto the top of her head. In response, she simply rests her head into the crook of Gray's neck and wonders how someone like her managed to attract someone like her Gray-sama.

Outside the window, the stars twinkle away merrily, as bright and beautiful as the couple embracing underneath their skies.

- End of Chapter 5 -

* * *

A/N: And they're _finally_ a couple. This did fulfill the 'spending some simple alone time together' prompt, right? I had fun writing this fluffy little chapter, and I sure hope you guys had fun reading it too. Review as you please, and if you have anything you would like to see in their upcoming first-date, do tell me and I'll try to fit it in.

To my lovely followers/reviewers/favourite-ers, let me just tell you that I love you guys and I wouldn't be writing if not for you all. Thanks people!

/and I know I update at the speed of a drunk snail - but I won't abandon this fic, I promise!/


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